United Labor, Unions: such a bad name now. Yet more than a century ago Labor Unions were the progressive trend in American politics. They fought for things that are taken for granted now: an 8 hour shift, a 40 hour work week, paid vacation, sick pay. Now Bobby J and his nasty Neo-Con cohorts work tirelessly to reverse what our brothers and sisters have achieved.
I remember this song from when I was in high school (a public school, which Jindal is working hard to destroy):

The Strawbs:


Now I'm a union man
Amazed at what I am
I say what I think, that the company stinks
Yes I'm a union man

When we meet in the local hall
I'll be voting with them all
With a hell of a shout, it's "Out brothers, out!"
And the rise of the factory's fall

Oh, you don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
Until the day I die
Until the day I die

The union has made me wise
To the lies of the company spies
And I don't get fooled by the factory rules
'cause I always read between the lines

And I always get my way
If I strike for higher pay
When I show my card to the Scotland Yard
And this is what I say:

Oh, oh, you don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
Until the day I die
Until the day I die

Before the union did appear
My life was half as clear
Now I've got the power to the working hour
And every other day of the year

So though I'm a working man
I can ruin the government's plan
And though I'm not hard, the sight of my card
Makes me some kind of superman

Oh, oh, oh, you don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
Until the day I die
Until the day I die

You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
You don't get me, I'm part of the union
Until the day I die
Until the day I die 

Hell, Yes!

The 40 hour work week, minimum wage, paid vacation, healthcare, lunch breaks, all won by Unions before WWll. Since then all of these gains have been under attack by the indolent wealth of our country. Louisiana is a "Right to Work" state, which is a scam to benefit employers. "Right to Work gives workers the right to die and nothing more.

This video is from the Untied Steel Workers but it applies to every Union and every worker. 

Watch it:

Republicans and The Right to Die

I thought it was a bad deal when The Right to Work Law passed in Louisiana in 1976. I was 24 at the time and naively thought it wouldn't last long. But as the years went on and it remained law, I began to call it The Right to be Fired Law, for I could see the only group benefiting from it were employers (the Capitalists)--not workers. 


The Cato Institute has a different take on this, they hold that Federal Labor Laws infringe on the employment liberty of workers to sell their (our) services without constraint by Federal or State Laws, i.e., if a worker wants to sell his services below minimum wage or work more than 40 hours without overtime, that worker should be able to do that. And that is what The Right to Work Law does, it empowers everyone to work longer for less. The Cato Institute and their followers really do; read this screed written by Richard Vedder in 2008, or as much as you can stomach.


The AFL-CIO has a different take on this law, they call it the The Right to Work for Less.  They provide some interesting facts--documented, of course--that prove their point, like:
1. Right to work laws lower wages for everyone. 
2. Federal law already protects workers who don’t want to join a union to get or keep their jobs.
3. Right to work endangers safety and health standards that protect workers on the job by weakening unions that help to ensure worker safety by fighting for tougher safety rules.


There are 22 states with Right to Work Laws. Every Southern State has bought into this and their people suffer for it. 


The average worker in a right to work state makes about $5,333 a year less than workers in other states ($35,500 compared with $30,167).[1] Weekly wages are $72 greater in free-bargaining states than in right to work states ($621 versus $549).[2] Working families in states without right to work laws have higher wages and benefit from healthier tax bases that improve their quality of life.


Since the Right to Work for Less or Be Fired Law was enacted, Louisiana has gotten poorer, our population and tax base have shrunk. Jindal and his cronies have done everything they could to cut taxes on the wealthy and the corporations. 


God forbid the Unions ever gain a foothold in Louisiana, and without Unions the rights we will have are the Right to Live Poor and the Right to Die. Norma Rae, where are you?